This 1991 (D21) Nissan Hardbody Dually is awesome in so many ways, it almost defies description.
The owner calls this Nissan Hardbody dually a “one ton Nissan Dually” – his words. He bought it brand new, with just 32 miles on the odometer – in 1992!
Under the hood is a legendary KA24 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that makes around 132 horsepower. It’s hooked up to a five-speed manual transmission. While the odometer stopped working about 15-years ago, the owner estimates it has gone about 500,000 miles. Wow.
Now, this was a base model truck – very basic. It had no radio, no air conditioning and manual roll-up windows.
Nissan Hardbody dually Customization
Obviously, there’s a lot of customization going on here. Fitted with a 4.33 rear “Nissan one-ton” axle, beefy one-ton leaf springs this little truck can haul a lot. It was also fitted with custom rear fenders, sourced from a ’73 Chevy dually.
The in-bed rack and bed side-rails were fabricated by the owner and his son. They also fabricated a longer neck on the fuel filler neck, to make it fit. Lights and mirrors came from NAPA Auto and were initially meant for a Chevrolet.
This setup means that the little truck can still move. At 60 mph, it’s turning 3,000 rpm.
Why bother with this customization?
Small trucks that can haul heavy loads are nothing new. Overseas, there are a ton of small pickup trucks that haul more than many of our full-size pickup trucks. One of the easiest ways to make a truck is to add springs, and rubber.
The owner says that the truck is extremely solid and reliable. after all of these years, they’ve replaced a few clutches, but that 2.4-cylinder is still the original. In all these miles, it’s never gone wrong, never leaked – and never failed.
This is a super cool little rig, one that’s meant to take on heavy loads (for a small truck) and dutifully fulfill its role as an excellent farm vehicle.
